Abuse Among People Living with HIV/AIDS

Here are some ways intimate partner violence can affect your medical care and overall health:

• Victims are four times more likely to have antiretroviral therapy failure than people who are not being abused. This means that they may face more HIV-related health issues;
• Women who recently experienced IPV are four times more likely to report condomless sex, increasing the possibility of a secondary HIV exposure as well as to other sexually transmitted infections;¹
• An abuser may prevent the victim from accessing routine and emergency medical care as part of the pattern of abuse;
• The abuse can increase the effect of other underlying conditions, including hypertension and heart disease;
• A victim’s immune system may be compromised by stress, depression, trauma, or PTSD from the abuse;² and
• Victims may fear that partner notification laws will result in a current or former abuser being notified about their status. Therefore, a victim may go without medical treatment in case partner notification laws require the doctor or other medical professional to tell the victim’s current or former partners that s/he has HIV. Note: Not all states require this type of notification. For information about partner notification laws in your state, please see The Center for HIV Law & Policy.

¹ NYC.gov, The Link Between Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Among Women in the United States
²Domestic Violence and People Living with HIV. University of Florida, Center for HIV/AIDS (2021)